Arts Preview: Big-league orchestras coming to O.C.

Chicago Symphony: One of the great orchestras of world for at least 50 years now (since the days of Fritz Reiner), the Chicago Symphony comes to the West Coast for the first time in decades, and to the acoustically inviting Segerstrom Concert Hall for the first time ever. Acclaimed music director Riccardo Muti is at the helm for one of his typically out-of-the-ordinary programs, featuring Arthur Honegger's tribute to trains, &#8220;Pacific 231,&#8221; a new work using electronics by the orchestra's composer-in-residence Mason Bates, and, finally, a revival of a once-beloved classic, the Symphony in D minor by Cesar Franck. 8 p.m. Feb. 17. Tickets are $50-$350. Ren&#233;e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 949-553-2422. philharmonicsociety.org TODD ROSENBERG, &#169; TODD ROSENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN

Orange County has become a perhaps unlikely Mecca for orchestras, but there it is. Audiences here show an appetite for them. This season they should be happy. A slew of American orchestras will perform here, including three of the traditional Big Five.

The Baltimore Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, surely in the top ten, also make the trek. Old World orchestras, including the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (aka the Kirov) and The Academy of St. Martin the Fields, are represented as well.

All of this in addition to a rich full season of programs given by the home team, the Pacific Symphony, itself now on the national map.

All ears will be on the visiting New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony, the last of which hasn’t played here in decades. Long considered one of the best on the planet, the Chicago Symphony, combining roof-raising brawn with stunning virtuosity, arrives for the first time with its new music director, the celebrated Italian maestro Riccardo Muti.

The New York Philharmonic will offer a look at its new music director, too, the eloquent and probing American Alan Gilbert. Franz Welser-Möst, by most reliable accounts an uneven leader of the Cleveland Orchestra, is nevertheless maintaining its famed chamber-music-like personality. What’s more, their program provides a rare glimpse at a neglected masterpiece, the dark, fierce and giddy Symphony No. 6 by Shostakovich.

The Philharmonic Society of Orange County, the area’s venerable presenter of classical music, is bringing in the visiting ensembles. The task is not without its risks, involving as it does a considerable outlay of monies, fundraising and filling Segerstrom Concert Hall with listeners in a tough economy. The Philharmonic Society managed last season, though – presenting among others the expensive Vienna Philharmonic – and posted a surplus at the end of the fiscal year. Audiences, hungry for orchestras, continue to come.

Given the offerings, there’s no reason they won’t attend en masse this season as well.

Chicago Symphony: One of the great orchestras of world for at least 50 years now (since the days of Fritz Reiner), the Chicago Symphony comes to the West Coast for the first time in decades, and to the acoustically inviting Segerstrom Concert Hall for the first time ever. Acclaimed music director Riccardo Muti is at the helm for one of his typically out-of-the-ordinary programs, featuring Arthur Honegger's tribute to trains, “Pacific 231,” a new work using electronics by the orchestra's composer-in-residence Mason Bates, and, finally, a revival of a once-beloved classic, the Symphony in D minor by Cesar Franck. 8 p.m. Feb. 17. Tickets are $50-$350. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 949-553-2422. philharmonicsociety.org TODD ROSENBERG, &#169; TODD ROSENBERG PHOTOGRAPHY; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
John Alexander's 40th: John Alexander, artistic director of the Pacific Chorale, celebrates his 40th anniversary as head of the group. He's a local musical treasure. Under his guidance the Chorale has become a sumptuous, flexible and versatile ensemble, as at home in the classics of the repertoire as in demanding new music, which it regularly performs. What's more, the Chorale provides support for a variety of other performing ensembles, this year the Munich Symphony (on a “Lord of the Rings” tour) and the Pacific Symphony. In an explicit celebration of Alexander's achievements, the Chorale will present a program of some of Alexander's favorites, extending from Beethoven to Morten Lauridsen, from Finzi to Jake Heggie. With the Pacific Symphony. 5:30 p.m. Nov. 6. Tickets are $15-$125. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 714-662-2345. pacificchorale.org MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
The Mahler Project: Gustavo Dudamel, indefatigable music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Mahler-fiend, leads a rare cycle of the complete symphonic works of the great Austrian composer (nine symphonies, plus the Adagio of the Tenth) in the span of some three weeks. The LA Phil and the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela (Dudamel's fiery youth ensemble from Caracas) play tag team with the gargantuan works. Guests along the way include Thomas Hampson (in “The Songs of a Wayfarer”) and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. After performing the slew in L.A., all the parties involved travel to Caracas to do it all over again. Jan. 13-Feb. 4. Tickets are $51-$177. Walt Disney Concert Hall. 323-850-2000. laphil.com MATHEW IMAGING; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
Laguna Beach Music Festival: A starry cast is on hand to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Laguna Beach Music Festival, a reliably bracing event that allows performances, and audiences, to spread their musical wings. Acclaimed violinist Joshua Bell arrives for a solo recital and collaborative event. Double bass virtuoso Edgar Meyer will display his astonishing versatility and melodic gifts. The young and vigorous Calder Quartet will do its potent thing. Festival-goers get a chance to meet the artists and even eat and drink with them. Feb. 6-12. Tickets are $35-$60. Hotel Laguna and Laguna Playhouse. 949-553-2422. philharmonicsociety.org ARMANDO BROWN, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
‘Simon Boccanegra': The unstoppable tenor, conductor and administrator Plácido Domingo recently turned 70, and though he keeps saying he'll quit singing when his vocal powers diminish, they never seem to. These days, he's found a way to extend his years on the stage by singing baritone roles. In that lower range capacity, he'll take on the title role of Verdi's “Simon Boccanegra” this season for his home company, Los Angeles Opera. See him while you can. Joining him in the cast are soprano Ana Maria Martinez and Vitalij Kowaljow (the persuasive Wotan in the company's “Ring” cycle). James Conlon conducts; Elijah Moshinsky directs. The production comes by way of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Feb. 11-March 4. Tickets are $20-$230. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. 213-972-8001. laopera.com CATHERINE ASHOMORE -ROH; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
‘Casablanca': If you've never seen “Casablanca” on the big screen, you should, for no other reason than to see the gorgeous Ingrid Bergman the size of the Green Giant. If that's not enough, conductor Richard Kaufman and the Pacific Symphony will perform Max Steiner's Oscar-nominated musical score live, in synchronization with the film. The Austrian Steiner, one of Hollywood's composer from the Golden Age, studied with Brahms and Mahler; Richard Strauss was his godfather. Bergman, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Paul Henreid star. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1943. 8 p.m. March 15-17. Tickets are $25-185. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 714-755-5799. pacificsymphony.org AP; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
Long Beach Opera: Long Beach Opera, led by the lively mind of Andreas Mitisek, is a company that likes to dig. Its 2012 season is typically full of neglected but worthy operas, a double bill of surrealist comic works – Francois Poulenc's “The Breasts of Tiresias” and Bohuslav's Martinu's “Tears of a Knife” – standing as case in point. Throughout its history LBO has done its thing with the skimpiest of budgets, but it seems to bring out the best in this group, which always finds ways to stretch pennies as it provokes and entertains. The frothy Poulenc and jazz Martinu should be just its thing. Sung in English with English supertitles. 2 p.m. March 11; 8 p.m. March 17. Tickets are TBA. Center Theater, Long Beach. 562-432-5934. longbeachopera.org ROSE PALMISANO, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
American Composers Festival: Over the years, the Pacific Symphony's American Music Festival has become one of the highlights of the classical season in Southern California. The scope of the event has been broad, from Dvorák in America to the music of Lou Harrison. This time, the festival looks east, celebrating the Iranian New Year (Nowruz) and the music of Persian Americans. In the main program, former composer-in-residence Richard Danielpour, a Persian-American, provides “Toward a Season of Peace,” a new work for orchestra, choir and soprano, to be given its world premiere. A set featuring traditional Persian music performed by the Shams Ensemble is included in the program. Carl St.Clair conducts the Pacific Symphony, the Pacific Chorale and soprano Hila Plitman. 8 p.m. March 22-24. Tickets are $25-185. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 714-755-5799. pacificsymphony.org MIGUEL VASCONCELLOS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
‘La Bohème': The Pacific Symphony launches its initiative to bring quality opera back to Orange County with a semi-staged performance of Puccini's favorite tearjerker, “La Bohème.” Carl St.Clair, veteran of operatic posts in Germany, leads a cast that includes Operalia winners Maija Kovalevska (pictured) as Mimi and David Lomeli as Rodolfo. The Pacific Chorale and the Southern California Children's Chorus assist. A. Scott Parry serves as director. 8 p.m. April 19, 21 and 24. Tickets are $25-185. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 714-755-5799. pacificsymphony.org COURTESY OF PACIFIC SYMPHONY; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN
New York Philharmonic: The storied New York Philharmonic, led by the likes of Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, Leonard Bernstein and Pierre Boulez, visits Orange County for the first time under its new, much admired but not yet household named music director Alan Gilbert. Known for his musical smarts and eloquent manners, Gilbert conducts his always eager musicians in a demanding and mostly French agenda, including Berlioz's “Corsaire” Overture, Debussy's “La Mer,” and Ravel's “La Valse.” Fireball pianist Yefim Bronfman appears as soloist in Beethoven's magisterial Piano Concerto No. 3. 8 p.m. May 8. Tickets are $50-$350. Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. 949-553-2422. philharmonicsociety.org CHRIS LEE; TEXT BY TIMOTHY MANGAN

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